Sherbrooke Cellars

Bressan Mastri Vinai

Winery

The Bressan Mastri Vinai Winery, located in the town of Mariano del Friuli in the Gorizia province in Friuli in northeastern Italy, dates back to the 1600s. Their vineyards are immersed in this area with an ancient Celtic heritage located in Farra d’Isonzo at the strategic intersection of ancient trade routes, where limpid horizons continue to evoke sensations, colors, scents and flavors most effectively.

Here lives the centuries-old spirit of the Bressan family. Where the slopes of the Collio region gently soften and open up onto the Isonzo River valley, in a slice of land protected to the north by the Julian Alps and open to the warm winds of the Adriatic Sea from the south, a rare mixture of natural elements (geographic, geological and climatic) have created a unique and inimitable terroir. With protection from these geographic luxuries, extreme climate conditions are avoided, and moderate weather patterns permit early development of the entire growing cycle by several days with respect to vineyards that are farther from the river, giving rise to grapes with excellent levels of maturation. Over ten generations of Bressan family dedication have gone into producing wines exclusively from grapes grown in the family’s 25 hectares of vineyard.

Current owner Fulvio Bressan carries on these solid traditions, strictly adhering to time-honored practices and a philosophy of minimal intervention. He believes in the artisan’s “artistic” sensitivity and in the tradition of his deeds, the fruit of centuries-long experience acquired in the personal cultivation of the vineyard. With these values in mind, he strives to produce wine without presumption or arrogance, while curious and attentive to the methods of the ancient science of wine-making, with a categorical refusal of modern technology.

His mission statement includes the following:
• Manual selection of the vines and preferential use of indigenous varieties
• Pruning and removal of shoots are performed exclusively by hand
• No synthetic chemical substances, respecting the vine and its natural cycles
• Exclusive use of natural fertilizers
• No Irrigation
• Manual harvest
• Fermentation exclusively with indigenous yeasts naturally present in the grape, absolutely excluding the use of synthetic industrial yeasts
• No sulfites added to the must, nor any other additives
• No biological and/or chemical aromas added.
• Maturation of the wine on its own “fine lees” up to the time of bottling
• No filtration
• Exclusive use of cork
• Manual-labeled bottles

Visit the winery at www.bressanwines.it